When you've been part of a duo that has made some of the best hip hop music ever, but never reached the mainstream, what do you do? Naturally, you would wonder if you could make it as a solo artist. Do you change your sound? Do you turn your back on those underground heads that consider you a legend?
To answer these questions, yes, Pharoahe Monch did change his sound, but no, he did not alienate his existing fan base. Put those together and you have an album that is only moderately disappointing to a true Organized Konfusion fan. On the other hand, give it to the typical pop/rap listener and its got better lyrics and more original delivery than they've ever heard before.
When I first heard the single "Simon Says," I enjoyed the beat, but found myself wondering where all the trademark Pharoahe Monch lyrics were. It seemed like he spit about 8 bars through the course of the whole song. The B-Side, "Behind Closed Doors," clocked in with only a few more bars. While it wasn't bad, I was hoping that there would be better things to look forward to on the album.
Well... that is debatable. Internal Affairs has several good songs, but none of the standout material I was looking for. The intro has some suspenseful background music - its actually more of a song than an intro. "Official" is an interesting concept where Pharoahe uses sports references as metaphors throughout the song. The first song I was really looking forward to was "Hell" featuring Canibus, for obvious reasons. It didn't disappoint, with both lyricists spitting ill verses, until it ended abruptly after 3 minutes. Like many songs on this album, I was left wanting more.
"The Next Shit" attempts to show the mainstream Pharoahe Monch by pairing him up with Busta Rhymes. At first, I didn't like this song at all, but I'm beginning to respect Busta for returning to his roots. Now I'm feeling it a little more. You will either think "The Ass" is ass, or you will enjoy the humor. It sounds pretty commercial to me, but it does have a great twist on a Wu-Tang line when Pharoahe says, "My Dick Rules Everything Around Me, D.R.E.A.M."
The album ends strong with "The Light," "God Send" (an Organized Konfusion reunion), and "The Truth" (it features Common and Talib Kweli - you know its gonna be dope, although its not legendary like this trio could have been). All three of these songs are very solid, and lead into the finale, a remix of "Simon Says" with Lady Luck, Redman, Method Man, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and Busta Rhymes. It's got lyrics, which is what the first version lacked, but unfortunately they are from lyricists other than Pharoahe. Lyricists worse than Pharoahe. And it looks like another attempt to pair him up with some people who are allowed to be on MTV.
When it was over, I couldn't quite tell if I liked it or not. The more I listened, the more I appreciated the album, but Pharoahe is certainly capable of more. If you are looking for message music, you won't get much of it here. If you only have enough money for one album, pick up the Mos Def album. Otherwise, this is probably worth your money.
-Joe Kostelnik
